Episode 313 - Submarines - 6 Years of Commentary

The Iron Fist and the Velvet Glove

The Submarine Saga: Australia's Defense Debacle

This episode is a comprehensive dive into Australia's controversial submarine acquisition history, focusing on the criticism surrounding the decision to purchase French submarines, a contract later cancelled in favour of a nuclear option with technology from the U.S. and U.K. The host reflects on previous podcast discussions, highlighting issues identified, inaccurate decisions, and predictions that materialized. Featuring discussions from various episodes, it brings to light the complexities and implications of defence spending, particularly the shift from diesel to nuclear submarines, the concerns about converting nuclear submarine designs to use diesel, and the broader strategic defence policy of Australia. The episode encapsulates internal discussions, expert criticisms, and political dynamics, ultimately questioning the rationale, costs, and strategic decisions underlying Australia's submarine policy over the years.

Timestamps

00:00 Australia's Submarine Saga: A Podcast Introduction

00:56 Submarine Debates and Predictions: A Look Back

01:51 The Economics of Submarines: Cost, Capability, and Controversy

07:28 Submarine Policy and Politics: A Deep Dive

16:22 Revisiting Submarine Decisions: Insights and Opinions

21:06 Submarine Controversy Hits Mainstream: Public Outcry and Political Response

24:50 The Future of Australia's Submarine Fleet: Predictions and Proposals

27:29 Submarine Discussions Continue: Advocacy and Analysis

32:28 The Challenge of Converting Nuclear Submarines

32:51 Exploring Air Independent Propulsion in Submarines

34:33 The Debate Over Submarine Capabilities and Costs

37:35 Submarine Mishaps and the Importance of Operational Details

41:26 Analyzing Military Threats: Indonesia and China

01:01:30 The Complexities of Military Spending and Strategic Alliances

To financially support the Podcast you can make:

• a per-episode donation via Patreon or
• one-off donation via credit card; or
• one-off or regular donations via Paypal or
• if you are into Cryptocurrency you can send Satoshis.

We Livestream every Monday night at 8:00 pm Brisbane time. Follow us on Facebook or YouTube. Watch us live and join the discussion in the chat room.

You can sign up for our newsletter, which links to articles that Trevor has highlighted as potentially interesting and that may be discussed on the podcast. You will get 3 emails per week.

We have a website. www.ironfistvelvetglove.com.au

You can email us. The address is [e-mail]

You can send us a voicemail message at Speakpipe

We have a sister podcast called IFVG Evergreen. It is a collection of evergreen content from the weekly podcast.

Transcripts started in episode 324. You can use this link to search our transcripts. Type "iron fist velvet glove" into the search directory, click on our podcast and then do a word search. It even has a player which will play the relevant section. It is incredibly quick.